"Ugh... you bastard, you're messing with me..."
Here in Butei High's practice forest, the man who was the main body of Aqua Necklace was in a foul mood.
Just as his shared vision with his Stand was cut off, a shock that felt like the world had turned upside down went through his body. He lost his sense of balance and was on the ground, vomiting, before he knew it.
Something must have been done to the captured Aqua Necklace. That was the only thing he could think of. His vision was still completely dark. Aqua Necklace, being a Stand that assimilates with matter, couldn't be called back or put away at will. With this kind of attack, he couldn't even escape.
The negotiation failed, and the hostage was rescued. It was a complete defeat.
"He attacked the weakness of my Stand so accurately, as if he knew all about it. Is this Shou Yozuki? It seems it's true that he got the better of the 'Professor'..."
He knew the information, but he didn't think it would be this much. He muttered that it was an unexpected variable.
"I have to... do something...!"
It was too late to regret it now. He put strength into his still trembling legs and tried to get up, but...
"Yo, is it you? The Stand user's main body?"
"!! Th-the red-haired Mea...!!"
The man's body trembled when he saw Mea landing beside him.
The man felt despair. He knew she was here, but he didn't think he would be found this quickly. He hadn't realized he had shouted loudly when he fell.
"Oh? You know me? Hmm."
"..."
Mea's attitude was as normal as ever, but the man's body was frozen with tension. There was no way he could win against Mea with his combat ability.
He might be able to buy some time if he could lure her to the water and hide. But with her right in front of him like this, he couldn't last for a second.
The man's despair didn't end with just Mea.
"Oh my, someone beat me to it."
"Y-you...!"
From the other side of the dark forest came a girl in an orange and black gothic outfit. It was Kurumi, clad in her Astral Dress.
The man knew. He knew that this girl had been with Lala when she went into town. And he knew she lived with Shou. But he didn't know she had such a dangerous side to her.
A cold sweat ran down the man's body at the insane smile that was rarely seen in the underworld.
"Ah, Kurumi-chan, you came over here."
"Yes, it seems those on that side are fine even without me."
The two of them chatted happily, with the Stand user caught between them.
In truth, ever since Lala's bodyguard duty began, Kurumi had been hiding her clones in Shou's shadow. It was for communication in case something happened to Lala, and also to monitor Shou.
"I was surprised earlier. You suddenly came out of Shou-kun's shadow."
"Hehe, I couldn't help but strike."
It was Kurumi who had hit Shou just now. She came out of the shadows without a sound, slapped Shou, and then sank back into the shadows. She had given a graceful bow to Yami and Mea, who had witnessed the whole thing.
"You were watching Shou-kun this whole time, weren't you? Even when Shou-kun and I were doing something 'lewd'."
"...Yes, I was."
"I guess you would get annoyed, wouldn't you? He's having sex with other women without knowing you're watching him."
"I didn't think you would invite him at school either, Mea."
"Aha. I just felt like it."
They spoke as if the fight was already over. Sadly, it was the truth.
"(Putting aside the red-haired Mea, this other girl is quite a monster too...!! W-why are people like this...)"
He knew that Kurumi was nearby when Shou was unable to leave Division 6.
But her atmosphere was completely different from back then. As if a switch had been flipped, she was exuding a killing intent equal to Mea's towards the Stand user.
There was no escape. As the man was covered in a cold sweat from that realization, the two of them finished their chat and looked at him.
"So, what should we do with this guy?"
"That's a good question. I have a few things I'd like to ask him before we hand him over to the school or the Bureau of Administration."
Kurumi's smile became even more sinister.
"While he's just a criminal, as a 'Stand user', I'd like to make his origin clear. Do you have any ideas, Mea?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. I remember there were DISCs when I was in 'I-Woo', but I don't know where they went. And besides, I don't really know many people in 'I-Woo'."
"DISC..."
Kurumi was lost in thought.
"(That zombie's Stand ability... to what extent has it had an effect...? Or is the 'third person' from the story involved?)"
"W-what do you want! You want to know how I got this ability!?"
The man, hearing their conversation, thought he had a chance to survive and tried to negotiate, spitting as he spoke.
"Then I'll tell you everything I know!! Everything!! My escape route, and what I was going to do after kidnapping Princess Lala!"
"Oh my, your mouth is quite loose."
"S-so please, just spare my life!!"
"Even if you say so... The organizations that will judge you are either the Bureau of Administration on this island or the Deviluke. There is nothing we can do for you."
"Besides, you were the one who started this, so don't you think it's unfair to ask for your life to be spared? If you're going to do something, you have to be prepared to get something done to you."
The man gritted his teeth at their merciless words.
"However, having an obedient attitude gives a good impression. I highly recommend you do the same during your interrogation at the Bureau of Administration."
Saying that, Kurumi approached the man with a pistol.
"Wh-what are you going to do?"
"It won't hurt. I'm just going to read your memories a little."
Kurumi chuckled as she closed the distance. In reality, Kurumi had no intention of harming the man. But in this situation, it was not strange for him to feel terrified when a girl approached him with a gun.
The man, not knowing what she was going to do, desperately tried to speak to stop Kurumi.
"I-I get it! Wait! I'll talk! Listen, I—"
That was his downfall.
"Gah!?!?"
The man made a strange sound and fell over.
"Oh."
"Huh? What's wrong? He suddenly collapsed. Kurumi-chan, did you do something?"
"No, I didn't do anything... Could it be...! Zafkiel, the Emperor of Time!"
Kurumi frantically manifested her 'Angel.' A giant clock face appeared behind her. From the 'IV' on the clock, black energy was charged into the pistol. It was the Fourth Bullet, Dalet, that could turn back time. A powerful ability that could even negate injuries on the human body by rewinding time.
She tried to pull the trigger on the man, but...
"It was too late, wasn't it..."
"Looks like it."
The man who had fallen to the ground was already dead.
---------
"It seems to be over."
"What were the results?"
Yase took off the headphones he was wearing. Then, a female student behind him spoke. She had glasses and a braid and was holding a hardcover book.
At first glance, she looked like an ordinary high school girl, a rather plain one at that, but in this place, she was Yase's superior.
Towards her, Yase started his report while leaning against the wall. The female student did not reprimand him. She knew Yase was exhausted from using his ability.
"The hostage was rescued safely. The Stand user is dead. It doesn't look like suicide either..."
"Some sort of ability must have been used to destroy evidence. Magic, sorcery, or perhaps a Stand ability."
Yase nodded in silence to the female student's opinion. But to admit that meant that the enemy had allies who would go as far as killing him to hide evidence and information.
"And were there any other intruders?"
"No suspicious people inside the school grounds. Should I expand the search outside the grounds?"
"No, that's not necessary."
Yase shook a palm-sized plastic case. The contents of the case rattled.
The female student saw it and shook her head.
Inside the case were chemical drugs that temporarily boosted Yase's ability.
Yase was a type of esper known as a 'Gemstone.' His ability was called 'Acoustic Barrier Soundscape.' Its effect was to manipulate sound waves and air currents.
Using this ability, Yase had expanded his hearing and observed Shou's situation in the school, and the details of this incident.
"I heard a lot of interesting things. He mentioned pulling a gacha, and a new ability. Senpai, do you know what a gacha is?"
"That's a bit of an insult. It's a type of vending machine that randomly dispenses products, isn't it?"
"That's right. That's it. He said a new ability came out after he pulled the gacha."
"I don't want to believe such a ridiculous ability exists."
"I agree. I'd like to think it's some kind of code. But right after that, he talked about having a new ability... so..."
Remembering that conversation, Yase groaned. Regardless of the means, there was a high possibility that a new ability had been created on the spot.
"I'll give you a detailed report later. It seems the Bureau of Administration has been contacted."
"Alright. See you then."
Yase and the female student began walking in different directions.
---------
The attack was over.
I left Kirin and Lala to Yami and headed towards where I thought the Stand user was, but all I found there were Mea, and (for some reason) Kurumi, and a dead, unfamiliar man.
According to them, this man was the Stand user's main body. He died in the middle of their conversation. He was undoubtedly silenced. Which meant there was more than one enemy.
I had planned to beat him up until his face was unrecognizable, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything more to a dead body.
More importantly, I thought it would be a big problem if there were multiple enemies, so I immediately went back to the pool, but all I was greeted with was the same old Yami and Lala, and a now-awake Kirin.
When I asked Lala, she said the Deviluke royal guard would be arriving soon. Yami had already contacted the teachers and the Bureau of Administration as well.
It seemed I had done everything I could for now. In that case,
"Kirin, are you okay?"
"Senpai..."
I spoke to Kirin. She should have been soaking wet, but she was now in a dry uniform. It seemed she had changed into the one she had brought for her clothing training.
Kirin's face looked like she was about to cry when she looked at me.
"Senpai, I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"For getting caught by the enemy and causing you trouble..."
That's not something to apologize for.
"The enemy was a Stand user. It was a bad matchup for you, so it couldn't be helped. You can't beat them with a straight-up fight."
"...Yeah, that's right. It's my fault Kirin was attacked... I'm sorry."
"Lala-sama..."
Lala seemed to feel responsible for this as well. She lowered her head with a rare look of dejection. Pekke also seemed to feel something about the situation.
But Kirin's expression didn't brighten.
"Please don't worry, Lala-san. It's my fault for being weak and not being able to win against the attacker."
"It's no one's fault. The one to blame is the one who suddenly attacked us."
Whether it's because someone is weak or because they were the cause of the attack, that doesn't matter. The one to blame is the one who did something wrong. Nothing else.
"But Senpai, you were able to defeat such an opponent. Even though it was your first time against him, you calmly saved me, the hostage."
That's because I knew about Aqua Necklace from the original story. If I were in the same situation as Kirin, it wouldn't have gone this way.
But it would take a long time to explain that, and I probably wouldn't be able to make them understand here anyway.
"I want to become stronger. Strong enough to fight not just in matches, but against Senpai's enemies too."
Kirin's mutter reached my ears faintly.
---------
"—So, that's why today was a little noisy at school."
"I see."
This is the 'Windowless Building' on Academy City. A special building with no windows or doors. To get inside, you have to have teleportation abilities.
Inside, there were two people present.
One was Motoharu Tsuchimikado, who was also Shou's classmate. His silly get-up of sunglasses and an aloha shirt was the same here.
And the other one. A human floating in a test tube filled with a liquid in the center of the building. The figure, which looked like a man, a woman, a child, an old person, a saint, and a prisoner, was Aleister Crowley, the head of the Bureau of Administration that governed Academy City.
Tsuchimikado, who was an assassin sent by Aleister, was reporting on the events of the day.
"It seems he has a tendency to get caught up in incidents."
Aleister's voice echoed in the space.
"Indeed, it's as if he's being drawn to enemies."
Tsuchimikado laughed in agreement.
Shou might be thinking that a new enemy will come soon, but it was abnormal for enemies to come at this pace.
He was the only one who didn't understand this.
"I don't know the full details, though. Unlike the other observer, I don't have a convenient ability. Don't you know more about it? Or rather, don't you know everything that happens on this island without even hearing my report?"
"..."
Aleister didn't answer Tsuchimikado's question. He had no obligation to answer. Tsuchimikado also didn't expect a reply.
"More importantly."
"What is it?"
The topic changed.
"I believe you've also been informed, but the schedule for the transport of the Index has been decided."
"...Ah. It's in one week. Of all the dates, I wonder what they're thinking."
Aleister sounded amused, while Tsuchimikado had a sour look on his face.
"Don't you have a job?"
"The transport of the Index also involves Division 6. There's a chance my identity could be revealed to Shou Yozuki, so I'm on standby unless it's an emergency."
"Unless it's an emergency, huh. I too hope that it ends peacefully."
Aleister said with a hint of something more in his words.
Tsuchimikado felt a vague sense of unease at his words.
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